REMEMBRANCE

03.11.13

Japan Marks Tsunami Anniversary

Pool photo by Junji Kurokawa

On Monday, Japan marked the second anniversary of the deadly earthquake and tsunami that claimed 16,000 lives and led to the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, forcing 160,000 to evacuate. A national ceremony began in Tokyo on Monday, as mourners across the country observed a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m., the exact time the tsunami struck. The 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck the country’s northern Pacific coast, triggering the tsunami that destroyed thousands of homes. The Fukushima plant went into meltdown, causing the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. In the aftermath, all the country’s nuclear plants were shut down, although Japan plans to restart them all later this year.